Business24 Newspaper 21st December, 2020

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

NO. B24 / 142 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

2,802 investors receive bailout package—SEC

MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

Ghana wants out of money laundering ‘grey list’ as new law passed

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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arliament has enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2020 to strengthen Ghana’s anti-money laundering legal framework and help the country exit the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

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Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director-General, SEC

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that 2,802 clients of defunct fund management companies have received full or partial payment of their investments under the government’s bailout package

for the industry.

The total amount paid to the clients is GH¢322.75m, the commission said.

The full bailout package involves a special arrangement whereby the government will pay clients of defunct fund management companies whose liquidation has been approved by the courts the full

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amount of their investments within a three-year period.

The partial bailout, on the other hand, is a flat cash payment of GH¢50,000 to clients of fund management companies whose liquidation has yet to be approved by the courts.

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14.5%

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15.12%

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11.4% OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

0.9% GHC 5.13

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resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said government is working to ensure that Ghanaians are able to access safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines when they become available.

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INTERNATIONAL MARKET USD$1 =GHC 5.7027

Gov’t working to procure Covid-19 vaccines – Akufo-Addo

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Editorial / News

MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

Editorial

Let’s not drop our guards!

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ince Ghana recorded its first case of Covid-19 somewhere mid-March, an estimated 333 Ghanaians have perished from the disease and its complications – official figures say.

According to the Ghana Health Service, there has been more than 50, 000 confirmed cases – a figure which could potentially rise if the number of people who contract the disease and self-medicate is taken into account.

However, over the last couple of months, it seems the fear that heralded the virus has died down and Ghanaians have developed a nonchalant attitude towards it.

Unfortunately, until everyone is properly vaccinated against the virus, everyone remains at risk and our indifferent attitude

does little to help.

While this paper believes that the improvement in treatment protocols at the various health institutions have contributed immensely to reducing mortality rates, it is no substitute for dropping one’s guards against the virus.

With the generally poor culture of routine medical check-ups, quite a number of Ghanaians may have existing health conditions that they may not be aware of – making them highly susceptible to the complications the virus brings.

As the President said in his Sunday update on measures taken to fight the spread of the pandemic, individuals must continue to act responsibly and take charge of their safety.

Prevention is better than cure.

The coming festive season

presents more opportunities for interactions and large gatherings. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they stick strictly to the protocols.

The virus remains very much alive.

President Akufo-Addo in his address also revealed plans for Ghanaians to access the developed covid-19 vaccines.

This is good news as it ensures that as a country we are not left behind.

Indeed, the availability of the vaccine will help restore calm to the economy which has been on the edge since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in March this year.

While we applaud the President on his promise, it still remains imperative for everyone to keep safe especially during this festive season!

2,802 investors receive bailout package—SEC Continued from cover It is an interim measure which the government said it has taken to give relief to investors, pending the granting of court orders to begin liquidation of the affected companies.

The commission said in an update last week that affected investors whose validated claims exceed GH¢50,000 will receive their additional funds, in line with the bailout formula, after liquidation orders have been secured.

The partial bailout is expected to cover a total of 92,460 claims filed against 27 fund management companies, out of which Blackshield Fund Management Company accounts for 92 percent of claims.

The regulator said the partial bailout being offered will result in 89 percent and 82 percent of affected individuals and pensioners being fully settled, respectively.

“Regarding the full bailout, investors will have to subscribe to the overall bailout scheme.

Claimants who do not subscribe to the bailout scheme will have to wait for a proportional liquidation dividend from the Official Liquidator,” SEC clarified.

The partial bailout is being channelled through Amalgamated Fund Ghana Limited, the same special purpose vehicle (SPV) being used to pay clients of fund management companies currently under official liquidation.

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

Ghana wants out of money laundering ‘grey list’ as new law passed Continued from cover In April 2009, Ghana was blacklisted by the FATF after an evaluation exercise by the InterGovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering

in West Africa (GIABA), in which the country scored zero compliance on 16 key FATF recommendations.

Consequently, the government initiated measures to address the deficiencies identified, following

which the FATF recommended that Ghana should be taken off the blacklist permanently for exhibiting exceptional political and strategic commitment, coupled with a high level of awareness of anti-money

Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah is confident Ghana’s anti-money laundering image will improve with the passage of the new law.

laundering and countering financing of terrorism measures.

Another evaluation in 2016

by GIABA showed significant improvement in the country’s anti-money laundering framework, but it still did not meet the revised FATF methodology.

Ghana was therefore placed on the FATF “grey list”—which implied the existence of weaknesses and risks in the legal framework that could likely make the country attractive for money laundering activities.

The new law is therefore intended to address the weaknesses identified in previous evaluations, according to the chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah.

“The recommendations from GIABA have been factored in the new law to protect the country from money laundering,” he told Business24 in an interview.

“We hope the international community will pay attention so we are taken off the grey list,” he added.

Gov’t working to procure Covid-19 vaccines – Akufo-Addo Continued from cover The President speaking in his update last Sunday on measures taken by government to address the spread of the virus said a team has been put together for the procurement and deployment of the vaccines.

“Ghanaians, the recent news of emergency approvals of Covid-19 vaccines, by the Food and Drugs Administration of the United States of America, and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the United Kingdom, provide considerable optimism and hope for the world in our battle to defeat the pandemic.

Ghana, I assure you, is not going to be left behind in having access to the vaccines. I am aware of the anxieties relating to the safety and efficacy of newlydeveloped vaccines. Government will ensure that the Covid-19 vaccines to be deployed in the

country are effective and are safe.

To this end, I have put together a team of experts, from the relevant institutions and agencies, who are working assiduously towards the procurement and deployment of the vaccines in Ghana,” the President said.

The availability of the vaccine will help restore calm to the

economy which has been on the edge since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in March this year.

While previous updates by the President announced the gradual easing of restrictions imposed to curb the virus, the President maintained that public places in enclosed spaces such as cinemas,

night clubs and pubs are to remain shut.

“With barely a week to the Christmas festivities, which bring in its wake family reunions, parties and many social and religious gatherings, I urge all of us to err on the side of caution and observe the Covid-19 safety protocols no matter where we find ourselves.

The dynamics of the virus has taught us that, if you must host or attend such events, they are best held safely outdoors or in very well-ventilated halls, rather than in closed, air-conditioned spaces.

Even when organised outdoors, there must be adequate spacing for the maintenance of social distancing. Organisers of such events, public or private, should ensure the presence of ‘Veronica’ buckets, soap and sanitisers, and must insist that patrons use them as frequently as possible,” the President cautioned.

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

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WEAR YOUR FACEMASK ALWAYS surfline ...it’s about time

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News

MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

MTN Ghana excels at the 2020 Project Management Awards

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TN Ghana has emerged tops at the 2020 edition of the Project Management Awards held in Accra. The awards, currently in its second year seeks to recognise and award excellence in Project Management.

MTN Ghana emerged tops in the following categories; • Project Management Company of the Year • Economic Impact Project of the Year • Innovative Project Award • Project Team of the Year Congratulating the MTN team, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Selorm Adadevoh said “these awards are a testament of MTN’s commitment to executing relevant and impactful projects that delivers value.

In his remarks, Mr. William Tetteh, General Manager for Capital Projects thanked the organizers for the awards. He said, “as the person responsible for leading the execution of capital projects in MTN, it is my responsibility to ensure that the projects are well planned and executed within the project management framework. He admonished the team to continue to employ best practices to ensure that projects impact society

positively.”

MTN’s approach to project management is guided by the Bright Delivery Methodology (BDM) which provides a standardised project-portfolio management approach with focus on delivery and benefits applicable to all projects across the business. It is this approach that won MTN Ghana the Project Management Company of the Year award.

The team’s execution of the MTN Ghana Fibre Project which

resulted in the laying of fibre to Urban Homes in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Koforidua, covering a total of 33 communities won the Project Management Team of the Year. MTN MoMo Limited’s launch of MAgric in partnership with GSMA to drive digitization in agriculture won the Economic Impact Project.

The Innovative Project Award was underpinned by MTN TurboNet project which saw the provision of synchronised communication of all forms

anywhere, anytime over the internet, making it possible for homes and business owners to serve their customers better.

The Project Management Award recognizes individuals or organisations who pursue best practice in economic development through projects and attained the highest standards of professional conduct and competence within the project management space.

The maiden edition was held in 2019 which saw MTN picking five awards.

Standard Chartered Bank clients to win bountiful rewards in its SC Mobile Season of Surprises Campaign

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lients of Standard Chartered Bank have a fine opportunity to end this year on a high following the unusual experience of Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bank has lined up list of goodies in its Season of Surprises to put smiles on the faces of its customers this festive period.

One customer stands the chance of driving home a brand new sleek Citreon C5 Aircross from Silver Star Auto –the ultimate prize—while there will be loads of other exciting goodies to light up the world of lucky customers in this season of surprises.

Also, from now till end of the year, customers could get the opportunity ti fill up the fuel tanks or a chance to go 60-seconds free

shopping at Shoprite.

To stand a chance, new customers have to download the

SC Mobile App from either the Google Playstore or the Appstore and make a deposit of GHS200.

For already existing clients, they just have to make a deposit of at least GHS200 to be eligible.

SC Mobile allows clients to open an account within 15minutes on the mobile banking app. Apart from making local and international money transfers, SC Mobile has a groundbreaking feature that allows clients to access a variety of financial services from within any social or messaging platform without having to open the Banking app with the “SC Keyboard”.

SC Mobile has won numerous awards in the Digital Banking space locally and internationally.

Recently, it was adjudged the Best Banking App at the Ghana Information Technology and Telcom Awards (GITTA)

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

Could networking help self-employed deal with mental health issues?

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s a self-employed business owner, life can sometimes be a solitary one. Especially now with Covid restrictions and an increase in individuals spending the majority of their time with little to no daily contact with other people.

This is where networking can be very important to help mental health issues that some people can experience. Networking can be beneficial to help anyone working on their own who may be feeling isolated and are worried about their mental well-being. Feeling lonely and isolated can have a big bearing on mental health.

The amount of people who are registered as self-employed is a figure that continues to steadily rise. Many of the self-employed have admitted to feeling lonely at some point or other since becoming their own boss.

Being a small business owner can be a very lonely occupation with no-one around on a day to day basis to share responsibility with and often no-one to voice concerns or worries to. Having to burden all business decisions on your shoulders can easily lead to mental health conditions including anxiety and depression.

In order to deal with these problems or to stop them from occurring in the first place, making use of local and online networking groups as a way to connect with others could be beneficial. As well as making good business sense, it is a great way to chat with others in the same position who may be having similar feelings and issues as yourself. Networking is a great way to not only help boost your business and raise awareness of your products or services, it can also help you to share your concerns and worries, and to help seek advice and guidance from more experienced people who may have faced and resolved the same obstacles that you are facing.

Although many people in employment spend years dreaming of ditching their 9 to 5 job and setting-up on their own, the reality of actually going from a busy office or work environment to one where you are completely alone can be a real shock to the system.

Going to local networking breakfast or lunch meetings is a great way help you connect with lots of local small business

owners.

As things currently stand with social distancing the majority of networking events are now held via Zoom (or using similar technology). This is a very relaxed and friendly to make new contacts without feeling too formal and all from the comfort of your own home or office. These meet ups via Zoom can introduce you to not just local people your business but also people who are based further afield.

While you may not see networking as an essential part of your day to day business processes, you have to remember that taking a break to talk with other like-minded people can not only be good for the future of your business, it can have a positive effect in your mind and your mental health too.

Please get in touch with Business for Breakfast today to hear more about their networking events.

Authored by: Business for Breakfast (BforB)

Business for Breakfast (BforB) is internationally recognised for creating successful networking meetings, events and training for referral marketing. Our global offices are in Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Ghana and headquartered in UK. We create an environment where you can build quality relationships within your group, backed up by an ongoing member support programme.

BforB is committed to helping small to medium scale businesses expand. In our professional network, members meet regularly in business networks to develop relationships, support each other and to share and record referral business.

We are here to help you get new business from quality business introductions and referrals made through our meetings.

Kindly join our next meeting using this link: https://rb.gy/ qrf4pl Contact us: 059 4 016 432 | info@bforbgh.com | Facebook & LinkedIn: @bforbghana | www. bforb.co.uk

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

Could #BlackGirlMagic be the secret recipe for success in African workplaces?

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lack African women who bring their #BlackGirlMagic and ubuntu management style to the African workplace provide leadership that is more culturally relevant to transformed and diverse organisations and leads to better business performance.

Businesses that understand these women’s impact, and tailor their leadership development and mentorship programmes accordingly, can “capitalise on ubuntu-infused leadership and Black Girl Magic” to build an organisational culture geared to greater employee engagement, productivity, and profitability, says University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) lecturer Dr Phumzile Mmope.

In the 2020 Women’s Report, in association with the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), she says that while the concept of ubuntu is rooted in African traditional philosophy and #BlackGirlMagic is a modernday movement stemming from social media, the two are linked by values of solidarity, unity, inclusion and a focus on relationships and collective wellbeing.

“When deployed by leaders these qualities can create more humane workplaces and engaged workforces,” she said.

In her article #BlackGirlMagic – does it have a place in the workplace? in the 10th African anniversary edition of the report, themed The rise of the black woman: Celebrating black women’s excellence, Dr Mmope said that research on women and leadership in the African context was limited and that leadership training and development in Africa remained mainly Eurocentric.

“But the concept of ubuntubased management, specifically in the context of its application by black African women through #BlackGirlMagic, provides a foundation for leadership development that is more contextually and culturally relevant in transformed and diverse organisations.”

Dr Mmope said while increasing numbers of black African women were rising to leadership positions in business, they often had to adapt their behaviour to “the norms in organisations historically dominated by white male leadership” to assimilate and as a coping strategy against discrimination and stereotyping.

“More recently, however,

there is a surge of professional black African women who are positively embracing their authentic self and influencing and reshaping organisational cultures with their practise of ubuntu values and their embracing of the #BlackGirlMagic movement that celebrates black women’s success and resilience and gives them a collective voice.”

“Black Girl Magic is an affirming phenomenon that resonates deeply and amplifies the traits that professional black women embrace when they practise leadership that is shaped by ubuntu values,” she said.

Professional black women who identify with the #BlackGirlMagic movement share their stories of success and encourage others, and attribute their leadership traits such as resilience, accomplishments and triumph over adversity to their #BlackGirlMagic.

“Black Girl Magic could be a powerful force in the African workplace, because its power lies in uniting and establishing a collective voice among black African women leaders who are all striving for the same thing — to challenge the status quo and create humane workplaces. In reality, black African women should be supported to reach their full potential through community, while they, simultaneously, protect each other from the world that often views them as ‘others’,” she said.

Studies on black African women leaders found that they employed ubuntu-style leadership and employee engagement, focusing on achieving goals through collaborative problem- solving and collective action, building unity and authentic relationships in the workplace, and seeing leadership positions as more about making a difference in the lives of others, [i] Dr Mmope said that rekindling humanness, or the spirit of ubuntu, in the workplace could “perhaps be considered one of the most significant contributions of professional black African women to organisations to improve the effectiveness of leaders and thus enhance organisational performance”.

“The authentic relationships resulting from genuine ubuntuinfused leadership remind leaders that people are human beings, not just human ‘doings’ for the achievement of organisational goals. People want to experience a sense of community, a sense of

belonging,” Dr Mmope said.

She said the value of understanding ubuntu from a practical management and leadership perspective – the ethical aspect and the notions of interconnectedness, being part of a collective, making decisions with a view to both individual and collective wellbeing – lay in including personal goals. the ability to develop organisations “where people enthusiastically align themselves with organisational goals without feeling the need to sacrifice their own individual goals”.

Similarly, the power of #BlackGirlMagic lies in uniting black women and giving them a collective voice, fostering a spirit of solidarity, and encouraging and inspiring others to persevere despite the odds.

“Leaders who practise these principles of ubuntu and Black Girl Magic connect employees, promote team spirit and enhance employees’ involvement in their work. Employees experience a sense of meaning, significance, inspiration and pride in their work, and that in turn translates into improved organisational performance,” Dr Mmope said.

Dr Mmope’s recommendations for organisations to capitalise on the power of #BlackGirlMagic include contextualised leadership development and mentorship programmes that foster a welcoming environment for professional black women to apply their ubuntu-driven leadership style and be their authentic selves rather than having to assume behaviours and identities to cope with discrimination.

Training and development opportunities should focus more on using existing studies on ubuntu as a management concept, to ensure that these programmes are culturally and contextually relevant in the African business

environment.

About the Women’s Report: The 2020 Women’s Report focuses on the life and work of women in South Africa. The report is compiled in association with the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) and sponsored by the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). The Report is available to download from https:/ /womensreport.africa/ and https://www.usb.ac.za/usb_ news/couldblackgirlmagic-bethe-secret-recipe-for-success-insa-workplaces/ Author: Interview done by the University of Stellenbosch Business School BIO OF DR PHUMZILE MMOPE Dr Phumzile Mmope is a leadership communication coach and strategic communications consultant who helps clever people have deep, meaningful conversations that help individuals and teams increase employee engagement, productivity, and thrive.

She is passionate about cultural diversity and how powerfully valuable a resource it is under effective leadership.

She lectures part-time on leadership communication at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). Her research focus area is intercultural communication competence in the context of facilitating strategic alignment and employee engagement in diverse workplaces.

CONTACT DETAILS Dr Marietjie van der Merwe USB Representative Marie@ globalnatives.com +230 606 2341 / +230 5 701 1362

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

GIPC to consolidate gains in spite of COVID-19

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he Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is to consolidate the foreign direct investment gains made so far in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC said a further increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow in the coming year could help rejuvenate the economy as affected by the pandemic.

He was speaking at the Centre’s Press Soiree for media stakeholders in Accra.

The event was to cement the existing relationship between the Centre and the media as well as appreciate the role of the media in ensuring that the GIPC, stays relevant through timely coverage of events and sound dissemination of information from the Centre.

He commended the media for their continuous support, describing the media as “strategic partners” necessary for the attainment of goals of the Centre.

The Centre in the first half of the year, 2020 recorded 785.6 million dollars of FDI, which was

a 409 per cent higher in value as compared to the same period last year, 2019.

He said the feat was praiseworthy considering the blow dealt on global FDI’s by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Grant said some initiatives such as the COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (CARES) programme, the

revision of Ghana’s Investment Law, the establishment of the Diaspora Investment Desk as well as the boosting of Investor Aftercare would be prioritized to support the economy towards recovery.

He said in the foreseeable future, the focus of investment promotion agencies in most countries would be primarily on

keeping investors in the country, strengthening their resilience and encouraging restructuring and reinvestment in order to preserve companies and thereby safeguarding jobs.

He urged journalists to constructively support the GIPC in the coming year and beyond, especially as the country looks to rebuild a more resilient economy.

ITC and AGI partner to build the capacity of members of the standard. on standards He noted that the sustainability

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he Eastern, Volta and Oti branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is collaborating with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to equip members with knowledge on developing trade and sustainability standards.

The training forms part of efforts by the Association in the three regions to build the capacity of members to enable them to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is scheduled to take off in January of 2021.

The webinar which was on the theme: “Sustainability map, your roadmap to sustainable consumption, production and Trade.”

Mr Albert Armooh, International Trade Centre (ITC) Trainer, explained that one of the focus areas was to ensure Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) achieve the global development goals through the provision of trade and market intelligence.

He said for a company to benefit from sustainability standards, it had to get access to the international market by creating and managing their profile on the

Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi, AGI President

sustainability map.

That will present the company to the global network of companies and a QR Code generated to be embossed on the labels.

He said this would ensure that anytime the code was scanned all the sustainability practices of the company would be shown and that gave them an advantage over others doing the same business who are not practising

sustainability.

“It makes the company attractive because of its good credibility and reputation as well as an endorsement that will come from buyers,” he reiterated.

Mr Armooh said the sustainability map tool is to help get information on voluntarily sustainability standards and sustainable market trends and allows one to view the gaps in compliance with the requirement

map has four main modules, the standard module which offered over 240 voluntary sustainability standards and allowed for analysing their criteria and processes as well as comparing them.

He said the network module enabled one to create their online profile so that they could put information about their company and their sustainability practices.

He noted that the trend module supported those who are interested in looking at market trends, while the community module looked at sharing information.

Felix Berbiye, Treasurer of the AGI branch, said the region was working tirelessly to build the capacity of members and to promote their business sustainability practices to gain visibility in the international supply chain and connect to international buyers.

He noted that setting up of the AGI E-commerce platform was also another avenue to enable listed members to take advantage of the digital revolution and open up to a wider spectrum of clients for their products and services.

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Trump trade chief wants WTO leadership race reopened

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he US has suggested that the process to find a new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) needs to be reopened, in what would be an unprecedented move.

Donald Trump’s trade chief Robert Lighthizer told the BBC on Wednesday that the WTO needs “someone with real experience in trade”.

The US opposes former World Bank economist Ngozi OkonjoIweala for the job.

A consensus still hasn’t been reached.

The doubling down on the rejection of Ms Okonjo-Iweala, despite widespread support from other countries, escalates one of the most pressing global trade issues Joe Biden will have to solve as US President.

The other finalist for one of the top jobs in international trade is South Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, and the pair have been left in limbo for more than five weeks.

US tries to block first African head of WTO President Trump’s top official on trade, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s remarks on Wednesday to the BBC in his first international interview confirm that there is no way the Trump administration will be persuaded to back the Nigerian ex-finance minister in its remaining weeks in office.

The impasse at the WTO comes at a sensitive time for global trade, which has suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala insists she is the right person for the job and has the right experience with both trade and delivering reform.

Her spokesperson told the BBC: “Dr Okonjo-Iweala looks forward to engaging with the Biden administration and is hopeful that final consensus can soon be reached. The WTO urgently needs to get to work at this time

of global crisis.”

A new leader is seen as crucial for achieving meaningful change.

Mr Lighthizer said the WTO “is massively in need of reform”, adding “we need to start making headway” on that process.

If a new Director-General is not appointed before Joe Biden’s inauguration as US President on 20 January, it is likely the process will be delayed for several months as a new US trade team is put in place.

That includes Katherine Tai, who has been picked to be Mr Lighthizer’s successor, but needs Congressional approval.

Mr Biden may also embark on a widespread review of US trade policy, as dozens of industry groups are urging him to do. But he has said he doesn’t plan to immediately remove any of the tariffs Mr Trump imposed on China, and which the WTO has judged to be “inconsistent” with international trade rules.

Appellate Body reform The WTO plays a crucial role in brokering trade deal and upholding international trade law, however it has been without a leader since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August, saying someone else would be better placed to deliver the needed reforms.

His tenure was blighted by the US China trade war and President Trump’s widespread use of tariffs to achieve his goals on trade.

According to Mr Lighthizer, the WTO has “failed to function as a negotiating body”. He also pinpoints that “massive reform” is needed for the dispute-resolving Appellate Body, which he feels has evolved into a body creating a common law of trade, “taking away benefits” that members had negotiated for “and putting restraint on things that had been conceded”.

The Appellate Body has been

Ms Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was Nigeria’s first female finance and foreign minister

Robert Lighthizer watches as President Donald Trump signs a document in the Oval Office

incapacitated by the Trump administration vetoing the appointment of new judges.

“I think there’s a consensus developing at the WTO that we need the appellate body reform,” he said.

“We need to start negotiating again, we need to start making headway. So I’m glad you brought up the WTO, it’s been clearly a focus for us and to us its an organisation that started off as a good idea and basically isn’t functioning very well, but I think that can be sorted out also.”

The Director-General has an important role to play in bringing change according to Professor James Bacchus, a former chairman of the WTO Appellate Body, as well as a former US trade negotiator.

“Effective multilateral cooperation to lower barriers to trade is urgently needed to help jumpstart the global economy

and recover from the pandemic,” he says. “That requires creative leadership from an honest broker in the role of director-general.”

Joe Biden hasn’t given any indication that he prefers either Ms Yoo or Ms Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO’s top job. However when it comes to trade, he recently said: “We need to be aligned with the other democracies.. so that we can set the rules of the road instead of having China and others dictate outcomes.”

“If the Biden administration can trade off support for Ngozi for political capital on other reforms, that certainly seems like a good idea,” Simon Lester, a WTO expert at the Cato Institute in Washington told the BBC. He added that this would be the quickest way to get a new WTO leader in place, because “opening up the selection process could be messy and complicated, and would lead to delays”.

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ICAO calls for coordination towards recovery of air travel and tourism

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peaking at the 7th Meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Tourism Crisis Committee last week, ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu emphasised that a combination of measures, coordinated between governments and industry, will be essential to the re-establishment of public confidence in air travel.

“I wish to reaffirm ICAO’s commitment to this reestablishment of public confidence in air travel, and to getting the world travelling again,” Dr Liu commented. She added that the UN agency for civil aviation was accelerating the sector’s recovery to bring prosperity and sustainability back to Small Island, Landlocked and the many other countries who rely so fundamentally on the socio-economic dynamics of transport and tourism.

Dr Liu updated the tourism crisis committee on the new Phase II recommendations for air transport pandemic response and recovery, issued

in early November by the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force, noting that these recommendations dealt mainly with aspects of general hygiene, masks and face coverings, health screening and declarations, air passengers with reduced mobility and the mental health and wellbeing of aviation workers and passengers.

She also stressed they included a new recommendation for countries to evaluate the potential of personal passenger COVID-19 testing, as an alternative to quarantines, using ICAO’s

new manual on Testing and Cross-border Risk Management Measures: “The manual’s rapid development through our CAPSCA group, which includes the WHO, US and European Centres for Disease Control and others, also benefitted on this occasion from the newest government and industry advice and lessons learned.”

Dr Liu also highlighted that when considering the guidance contained in the updated Takeoff Guidelines document, and the ICAO Manual on Testing and Cross-Border Risk Management

Measures, countries were strongly encouraged to collaborate with each other regarding the Public Health Corridor (PHC) implementation: “ICAO has issued earlier advisories and resources supporting health corridor establishment, in addition to a new PHC Implementation Package in mid-November and PHCs are now helping countries and operators to realise some important and prudent first steps toward increased traveller confidence and sectoral recovery.”

IATA asks governments to consider aviation workers as “We are not asking for aviation and as calculations show,it will essential for vaccination workers to be on top of the require the equivalent of 8,000

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he International Air Transport Association (IATA) renewed its call on governments to ensure that employees in the aviation sector are considered as essential workers during the impending

COVID-19 vaccine campaign, once health care workers and vulnerable groups have been protected.

IATA’s 76th Annual General Meeting (AGM) had unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect.

list, but we need governments to ensure that transportation workers are considered as essential when vaccine rollout plans are developed. The transportation of the COVID-19 vaccines has already begun,

Boeing 747 freighter aircraft for global distribution. It is therefore essential that we have the qualified workforce in place to ensure a functioning logistics chain,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. IATA’s call is aligned with the proposed Roadmap for Prioritizing Uses of COVID-19 Vaccines by the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).

This recommends priority populations for vaccination based on the respective epidemiologic situation and vaccine supply scenarios. Within this framework, SAGE has included transportation workers alongside other essential sectors outside health and education sectors including police, for example.

The AGM also reiterated the vital role of air transport in facilitating the global response to the pandemic, including the timely distribution of medicines, testing kits, protective equipment and eventually vaccines around the world.

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

The dangerous allure of green central banking

By Daniel Gros

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entral bankers and financial supervisors around the world are increasingly focusing on an issue that is normally outside their remit: climate change. Both the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements (the central bank for central banks) have published reports on climate risk recently.

And the European Central Bank is seemingly getting ready to target the so-called green spread, or the difference in financing conditions for low-carbon and high-carbon activities.

There are essentially two reasons given for mobilizing central bankers to focus on climate change: risks to financial stability and market failures. But the economic and political logic behind them is weak, especially in Europe.

Although climate change presents a huge risk for everyone, it develops slowly over decades as greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulate in the atmosphere.

Governmental mitigation measures are also likely to make many higher-carbon “brown” business models uneconomic in the long run.1 Moreover, all market participants, including the bankers who extend credit to fossil fuel-based enterprises, and the investors who buy their bonds, know these risks. Central bankers and supervisors should not be concerned with the credit risk of any individual corporation or sector, but rather with threats

to the stability of the financial system as a whole.

Sudden changes in the time path of decarbonization could conceivably represent such a systemic risk. In an influential 2016 report, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) argued that a late recognition of global warming’s costs could lead to the sudden imposition of drastic emission-reduction measures, leading to financial instability. But this risk currently seems remote, particularly in the European Union, where governments recently approved an even more ambitious climate target involving a reduction of net GHG emissions of at least 55% by 2030.

The second argument for greening central banks is that monetary policy must address market failures, whereby someone who contributes to climate change by emitting GHGs does not pay for the resulting environmental damage. ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel has argued that, “In the presence of market failures, market neutrality may not be the appropriate benchmark for a central bank when the market by itself is not achieving efficient outcomes.”

But the idea that the ECB should “green” its monetary policy is wrong on several counts.

For starters, the market failure has already been addressed by the EU’s policy to keep GHG emissions in line with its targets.

For example, the bloc’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) limits the total amount of emissions in

industry and the power sector along a time path consistent with the EU’s goals. And member states recently tightened the bloc’s overall climate targets.

Democratically elected bodies – national governments, via the European Council, and the European Parliament – have thus addressed the market failure.

One might argue that the EU’s climate targets, and the ETS as one key instrument for achieving them, are insufficient. But it is not a central bank’s task to manage climate goals and instruments.

Moreover, ECB action is unlikely to be effective. One proposal is for the ECB to include only the bonds of “green enterprises” in its asset-purchase program. Such selective bond purchases would thus amount to a sort of “green” monetary or industrial policy.

Evidence from the ECB’s bondbuying program suggests that selectively purchasing the bonds of green companies might well succeed in marginally reducing these firms’ cost of capital, allowing them to invest more.

But any reduction in emissions would be offset elsewhere under the ETS-imposed cap. The lower emissions achieved by some firms that benefit from more favorable financing conditions would simply mean that others need to do less. The price of emission certificates would decrease to the point where emissions remain just equal to the ETS target.

Finally, a green ECB would necessarily become political.

Here again, there is a superficial argument for a green monetary policy: Article 127 of the Treaty on

the Functioning of the European Union says that the ECB should also support the EU’s overall economic policies, provided that this does not endanger price stability. Supporters of a green ECB thus argue that the institution is obliged to help the green transition, which is clearly an EU policy.

But this argument could be applied to many other policy areas. Cohesion, for example, is another of the EU’s important goals. Using the green logic, the ECB arguably should also foster cohesion by buying the bonds of poorer countries or regions, and possibly their corporate bonds, too.

Moreover, if the ECB wanted to support green finance, it would have to take a stance on many contested issues, including nuclear energy. It should not be the ECB’s task to decide whether bonds issued by a nuclear-power firm are green.

Market failures can be found almost everywhere. Why should the ECB address some and not others? This is a decision that only democratically elected governments should take. Central bankers have been insulated from political influence to pursue the very narrow mandate of price stability. Greening monetary policy might look attractive at first glance, but it represents a departure that is incompatible with their independence.

About the author Daniel Gros is Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies.

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MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

The Future of Work Capsules: Becoming a hybrid professional will put your skill in high demand

By Baptista Sarah Gebu (Mrs.)

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he whole essence of acquiring education and all the credentials is to enable you make ends meet and take care of yourself, family and offer support to resolving issues and crisis if you are humanitarian at heart both locally, regionally or globally. How do we prepare for tomorrow’s job today? Becoming a Hybrid Professional will put your skills in high demand.

In preparing for tomorrow’s job today, the human element will be necessary and still relevant.

Human beings will be needed to create, develop, program and invent for the future. At this stage of our growth and development and with Covid-19 with us two core words must always come to mind; Innovate and invent.

All jobs cannot be taken over by machines. The human element will be very much needed and this where the Hybrid Professional comes in. There is still light at the end of the tunnel if we stick to the rules of the future of work protocols. All is not bleak, let’s not be desolate, new jobs will be created.

Whoever thought an idea of an online community to virtually

engage will be a good selling proposition. Zoom now, Skype, Google meet, Facebook and other social media sites have created some jobs which hitherto never existed. Our ability to think out of the box to solve problems and create solutions around us will shape our future of work, develop yourself to become hybrid professionals to put our skills in very high demand.

What quick adjustments are you making to the future of work?

For now Knowledge is a free commodity available everywhere on the globe. Hitherto, aside observation and class room education it was kind of difficult to acquire knowledge. With the click of the button you can have access to both very good and brilliant content as well as very bad and irrelevant content alike.

Alas, knowing more is not a big deal as the application of what we know is the most vital. Using what you know now to helping address challenges of our time, is going to put your skills in high demand. We earlier realized from our soft skills previous discussion that credentials may not be very important if we lack soft skills. The future of work will look beyond hard skills. As

a hybrid professional, possessing the right skills will offer you a great competitive advantage.

Skills and Occupational Transitions Skills are the talent needed in order to do a job or a task. Job skills allow you to do a particular job whiles life skills help you through everyday tasks.

It might take determination and practice, but almost any skill can be learned or improved. On the other hand, skills are things that you can do or abilities that you require. It is worth knowing that soft skills are non-technical skills that relate to how you work.

They include how you interact with colleagues, solve problems, and manage your work.

The new normal is introducing technology transformation to the future workplace. Technology is altering the workplace and fundamentally changing the way companies around the world are hiring talent. Smart hiring strategies are now been considered and adopted. Skills, be it technological and or “human” skills – are quickly becoming the new professional currency, a benchmark by

which managers and human resource leaders are evaluating candidates. What skills set do you possess?

The future of work will introduce different kinds of transitions. We know that when you take into account the activities that are easy to automate, relatively, and the ones that are harder to automate, it will result in some occupations growing more than others.

For instance, occupations that involve a lot of data gathering, data processing, or physical work are going to decline. The relatively harder occupations, and activities to automate, like care work and work that requires empathy, judgment, and so forth, those occupations are going to rise.

The mix of occupations is going to shift substantially. That means that people are probably going to have to move and be transitioned from certain occupations into new occupations, ones that are going to be growing. So that’s one kind of transition. You then need the right set of skills to enable you also move and work along those lines.

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23 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 Another kind of transition is going to be the skill requirements. We know that the skill requirements are going to shift for a couple reasons. One, because people are moving to new occupations that are going to require higher skills, often, in order to perform those jobs; we know the skill requirements are going to go up, if only because people are going to be working alongside highly capable and increasingly capable machines.

In order for people to keep up, adapt, and work alongside effectively with highly capable machines, they will require a very different set of skills. So, the skill transitions are going to be quite substantial.

As leaders, it’s our job to help employees become flexible to the changing demands of work. Though no one can say for sure what new jobs will be created, we do know what kind of work will still require human input. That is where the hybrid professional comes in. Repetitive and predictable jobs will slowly disappear, but demand for nonroutine work will persist.

Technologies and trends will come and go, but whatever the future holds, the ability to look at problems from different perspectives and develop creative solutions will remain valuable. The same can be said for the ability to empathize and create meaningful connections with people. A growth mindset

MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2020

and the ability to continually learn will be key employee skills, and all employers will have to think of themselves as education centers that will continually train their workforce to adapt and evolve.

These competencies will become more important than ever for workplace success, and developing them will provide knowledge workers with a safety net against obsolescence. Skills will enable workers to be flexible and able to successfully adapt.

Companies need to be focusing on continuous skill development now in order to prepare workers for the changing work landscape of the future.

In order to empower employees to enhance their skills in these core areas and encourage ongoing learning and personal growth, we need to create a culture of development as put forward by the McKinsey report on the future of work.

Becoming a FoReal Hybrid Professional As work continues to evolve, trends will also originate. The future of work which was thought to be very far is fast approaching. Knowing our way around trends is very important for business survival and our own sustainability. The future of work will also introduce some new normal including; Working from home and not in offices, the concept of a job for life won’t exist & the need for ‘Hybrid

Professionals” will be in high demand among others.

‘Becoming a Hybrid Professional’ will put your skills in high demand. Hybrid professionals are professional who can work collaboratively across all (private, public and not-for-profit) sectors and use business solutions to tackle the world’s social and environmental problems.

As a consultant, lawyer, accountant, public servant or an entrepreneur, you need to develop the right skills set as a professional able to work across all sectors and industry when need be. This is the first global talent innovation and FoReal Hybrid Professional Program trains you to know how to become one. Reach out for support to know how to register freely to join the first of its kind global innovation to be a FoReal Hybrid Professional to promote effective self-management, greater empowered, greater teamwork, agile processes and emotional intelligence.

Hybrid Professionals must learn to upskill and reskill. To upskill is to provide training that enhances an employee’s existing skill set, allowing them to grow in their current role and bring added value to an organization. Reskilling is the process of learning or training someone on new skills that will help them do a different job. To reskill is essentially to retrain an employee for a new position. The difference between reskilling

and up-skilling is this; when we reskill we learn new skills so you can do a different job, or to be able to train people to do a different job. Whereas to upskill, we focus more on improving worker’s skills so they can work within the same job.

Develop yourself to becoming a Hybrid Professional to help put your skills in very high demand now and in the future.

About author

Baptista is the C.E.O of FoReal HR Services. She is a human resource professional with a broad generalist background. Building a team of efficient & effective workforce is her business.

Affecting lives is her calling! She is an HR Generalist, strategic planner, innovative, professional connector and a motivator.

You can reach her via e-mail on forealhrservices@gmail.com You can follow this conversation on our social media pages Facebook / LinkedIn/ Twitter / Instagram: FoReal HR Services.

Call or WhatsApp: +233(0)262213313.

Follow the hashtag # theFutureofWorkC apsules #FoWC

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